Working
You can become personally involved in doing ministry yourself.
Become a career missionary.
Do you think God might want you to commit your life to missionary service? There are millions around the world who need to hear the gospel and won't unless someone goes to tell them. In many cases there are so few Christians in their own country, culture, or language group that, unless someone from the outside comes to tell them, they have little to no chance of hearing the gospel. If you think God might be leading you to do this, talk to your pastor, elders, or other mature Christians in your church about what the next step should be for you. We could use many more missionaries in Japan, especially those committed to planting new churches. For various short- to long-term opportunities in OMF International, see https://omf.org/get-involved/serve-in-missions/.
Reach out to a foreigner.
Going to another country can be frightening, discouraging, depressing, and sometimes even dangerous. Yes, this is true even for those who come to America! When one leaves his own country and goes to another, he is cut off all that is familiar, often losing the emotional support of family and friends, feeling helpless and unable to do even the simplest tasks in another language and environment. The Bible tells us time after time that God loves aliens and cares for them and he commands his people to do the same. He says "You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God." (Leviticus 19:34, HCSB) Or again, "Yahweh preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but the way of the wicked he turns upside down." (Psalm 146:9, WEB) Forming a relationship with someone from another country gives you the opportunity to show God's love to those who need a friend. You may have an opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with someone who could never hear about him in his home country. Many Japanese come to America for business or study and live here for a few years. Generally, they are much more open to listening to the gospel than they would be in their own country. You might even meet someone from a country where Christian evangelism is against the law. By reaching out to such a person, you can help make their stay in your country much more pleasant and you will probably find yourself personally enriched in the process.
Be a short-term volunteer.
Could you devote a few weeks, a summer, or longer to helping missionaries or volunteering in some way to serve the Lord in a more needy country than your own? Consider joining a volunteer team from your church or contact a mission organization like OMF International about how you could put together such a team or join one that is in the making. Short-term missions trips offer excellent opportunities to get firsthand knowledge of missionary work and expand your vision of the world. Japan is often overlooked in short-term missions because of the high cost and perception that a wealthy country like Japan isn't needy. Despite being a modern, industrialized country, however, Japan is impoverished spiritually. Short-term missions teams can help the cause of the gospel in Japan by doing evangelism through such things as English teaching, music, and drama, or just by relieving the workload of the missionaries by babysitting, running errands, cleaning house, etc. Our missionaries in Japan have been greatly blessed by having short-term teams run a children's program during the week of our field conference. Some busy young mothers have been enabled to spend more time in Japanese study because of a volunteer baby-sitter. Some volunteers have done construction. Many came and helped with cleanup after the tsunami. OMF International's U.S. office has an excellent short-term missions department who are devoted to helping people find ways to serve God now while they think about what he may have for them in the future. For a short-term missions program with a view toward discipleship, see https://omf.org/get-involved/serve-asia-short-term-mission. For information specific to Japan, feel free to contact us.